


Chromatic Aberrations

by Wonderlandleighleigh



Series: Photos old and new [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Gen, Kidfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 04:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18087773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandleighleigh/pseuds/Wonderlandleighleigh
Summary: No Zanna is supposed to be assigned to the child of a family they've previously worked with. But the Winchesters aren't your typical family, and if anybody knows how to handle the youngest Winchester, it's Sully.





	Chromatic Aberrations

1.

He fights for Ramona Winchester, among the princesses and mermaids and unicorns, and all of the other beings that sweet little girls tend to gravitate towards. Sully picks a fight with them all. 

“You really want this one?” he asks dubiously. “Her family is full of monster hunters, and she just got accidentally shot in the belly. You’re telling me you’re up for this?” 

They all back off.

It’s breaking the rules. Sully knows it is. No one Zanna is supposed to be assigned to a child of a family they’ve previously worked with. 

But this is different.

The Winchesters were always different. 

2\. 

Ramona Winchester is four, and blonde and cute, if wary. She’s healed up, mostly, from the gunshot wound, but she moves slowly, and sometimes she’s a little shaky. Her dad doesn’t like leaving her, but he gets tugged around by his own dad, and Sully wonders if maybe Dean Winchester isn’t as much of a germ as he thought when was hanging out with Sam.

“Who are you?” she asks. 

“My name’s Sully,” he says, smiling gently. “And I’m your friend.” 

“Like on the TV show?” she asks, more curious than suspicious. 

“Well...maybe not quite like that,” Sully chuckles. “I’m here to keep you company while your dad and your uncle and your gramps are away. We can do whatever you like. Tea parties, or dressup....” 

She smiles, then. A real smile. “I like tea parties.” 

“Then you got it,” Sully says, tweaking her nose gently, and she giggles. 

3\. 

“Ramona, it’s so late, aren’t you sleepy?” Sully asks. 

She’s five, and up at three in the morning. Sam left for college only a week before, and she’s been climbing the walls, while her dad and gramps have been out on a hunt. He’s tried tea parties and dressup and movies and playing dolls. 

But she’s so antsy. 

“Daddy called,” she says. “They’re gon’ be home real soon, and they’re gon’ be hungry, so we gotta make samwiches.” 

Sully grins, bu still frets. “I bet they can make them on their own.” 

“Nu-uh, I make ‘em.” She gets out bread and ham and mustard and cheese and she gets to work, and Sully helps, because how can he not. 

But she should be sleeping, he thinks to himself. And she should be doing things that little girls do. Not this.

The door opens not long after. Ramona has sandwiches and beers (beers! Jeez!) on the table, and John’s in the door first, patting her head with a grimy hand. 

“Thanks, kiddo,” he says gruffly, lifting a beer. 

Dean’s in next, happy to see her, but obviously not thrilled that she’s awake. 

“Princess, what’d we say about bedtime?” he asks, kneeling down in front of her. His hands are reasonably cleaner than John’s and he rubs her arms gently. “You gotta get some sleep, huh?” He kisses her forehead,

“But I made you samwiches,” she defends herself. 

“Which makes you the sweetest little thing in the whole world,” Dean tells her, grinning. “And the sleepiest.” He hefts her up and carries her to bed, and Sully watches him disappear, before turning back to watch John wolf down one of the sandwiches. 

Sully sighs deeply, and rolls his eyes. 

4\. 

Sometimes it’s just Dean and Ramona in the Impala late at night. Rain patters against the windows, and for now, for tonight, Dean has no monsters to hunt. No father to please. 

Just Dean and Ramona. 

And Sully. 

“Princess, your birthday’s in a few weeks,” Dean says, glancing at her in the rearview. “I was thinkin’ maybe we could take a roadtrip to New York. We could see the sights. I bet we can find you the best birthday cake in the whole world there.” 

Ramona smiles. She’s sleepy, but happy. 

“Ask him,” Sully whispers, nudging her gently. 

“Daddy?” 

“Yeah?” Dean asks, grinning. 

“Can we go to Coney Island?” she asks shyly. “I saw it in a movie in the motel the other night. It looks fun.” 

“Coney Island, huh?” Dean says thoughtfully.

She nods. 

“So you’re thinkin’ birthday funnel cake,” Dean jokes, and Ramona giggles. 

“Yeah,” Dean says. “Yeah, let’s do it.” 

She’s so excited that she unbuckles her safety belt and pounces, hugging Dean from behind. 

“Hey,” he laughs. “Hey, hey, hey, get buckled back up, you know the rules.” 

She does, looking excited; a little more awake than she had been, but Dean starts singing that song that always does the trick - that old Bob Seger song, and she’s out in no time. 

“Against the wind.  
Still runnin’ against the wind.  
We were young and strong  
We were runnin’ against the wind.” 

Sully likes that he keeps singing it, even after Ramona’s out.

5\. 

They don’t make it to Coney Island. Or to New York. 

John calls with a hunt. Dean argues, but eventually caves. 

Sully has to admit, he kinda gets it. Saving lives trumps funnel cake. 

But Ramona is clearly disappointed; deathly quiet. Dean looks like he feels awful as he leaves her in the motel room. 

“Sometimes grown-ups have to do things they don’t wanna do,” Sully explains to her gently. “That’s part of being a grown-up. They have responsibilities, and they’re no fun, and they don’t like them, but...they have to get done. And I guess…I guess this is your dad’s.” 

He gets it now. 

He gets Sam’s life so much better from this angle. From watching Dean through the eyes of someone who thinks he hung the moon instead of a kid who’s realizing that his big brother is far from perfect. From watching Ramona. From watching John. 

He’s just glad Sam got out, eventually.

6\. 

A week later, and Dean’s surprised Ramona with a trip to the San Diego Zoo.

“I’m sorry we didn’t make it to Coney Island, Princess. And I’m sorry your birthday was crummy,” Dean says regretfully as he parks the car. “But...I figured this might help make you feel better.” 

Ramona slips out of the car, and looks around, her eyes wide. 

Sully’s are too.

“Wow,” they say in unison.

Dean smiles widely, looking hopeful. “Yeah? I know they don’t got a roller coaster, but they got elephants, and we can get ice cream.” 

For the first time in a week, Ramona lights up, and hugs his leg tightly.

Sully smiles at them, and follows them around. 

She makes out like a bandit. Dean buys her a stuffed elephant, and they get ice cream, and they see all the animals she wants to see, and they even see monkeys fling poop around.

Ramona proclaims it the best day ever, and Sully grins, sitting in the backseat of the Impala as the sun goes down, watching Dean settle a half-asleep Ramona next to him.

7\. 

He hangs back when they go to visit Sam.

It’s a rough visit. Dean and Sam clearly on edge with each other, Ramona not understanding why they can’t get along like they used to.

Sully barely recognizes Sam. He’s so tall, so grown-up. Nowhere near the nine-year-old kid Sully remembers.

“Sully, does Uncle Sammy hate me now?” Ramona asks much later when they’re alone in a warm motel room. 

“No way,” Sully tells her. “You’re way too cool, and he loves you. I think your uncle is just...having a hard time. He didn’t leave on the best terms.” 

“Do you think he’ll like me better if I draw him a picture?” Ramona asks. 

“I think he would love for you to draw him a picture,” Sully smiles. “Let’s get to work.” 

8\. 

Dean and John disappear on a hunt, and there’s not enough food to last that long. After two weeks, Ramona huffs, grabs the emergency money Dean had left behind, and heads for the door. 

“Ramona, maybe going out by yourself isn’t a good idea,” Sully comments. “It’s dark out now, and it’s raining.” 

“But I’m hungry,” she says. “I’m really hungry, and there’s a Royal Farms across the street.” 

Sully huffs. “But- hey, how about we order a pizza!” 

“I don’t know how,” Ramona says worriedly. 

“I’ll teach you,” Sully smiles, holding his hand out to her. 

She nods, and takes his hand. With the money she has, she gets a large pizza with pepperoni on it, and eats two slices. She manages to make the pie last until Dean and John get back two days later. 

Dean looks a little frantic, and beat up to boot, with his arm bandaged up. 

“See?” John gestures to Ramona, who’s watching TV on the bed. “I told you she’d be fine.” 

“I ordered a pizza,” Ramona says. “Sully taught me how.” 

She’s talked about him before to them. Her imaginary friend, and Dean’s brushed it off, for the most part, but this makes both men pause. 

“And we saw it on the TV how,” Ramona adds helpfully. “It’s pepperoni.” 

9\. 

Sully can’t help smiling when Sam calls for Ramona’s eighth birthday.

She’s big enough now that Dean lets her sit in the front seat, so Sully’s got the back to himself. 

Ramona’s different; a little more outgoing. A little less timid, if still a little shy. 

She’s a little happier. The San Diego Zoo seemed to have been a turning point for her, a couple of years ago and Sully’s relieved. 

He can hear Sam singing through the phone, and he listens to them talk. Listens to Dean interject. 

And he knows that his time is running short here. 

10.

Sully sticks around through Christmas. Dean and Ramona get snowed in at a little inn that Dean found after finishing up a hunt up in Massachusetts.

They’re hearing from John less and less and less and Ramona doesn’t seem too bothered, but Dean…

Well, Dean’s a little on edge about it.

But Christmas is good. They call Sam, and Dean gets Ramona a used Walkman and a few cassettes. 

The holidays breeze by, the spring, too, and suddenly, it’s almost September. 

“Your Gramps was on a hunting trip,” Dean says. “But I haven’t heard from him in a while. I’m starting to get pretty worried.” 

Sully watches Dean as he packs up their latest hotel room. 

“What are we gonna do?” Ramona asks. 

“Gonna go see your uncle,” Dean says. “I think we need some help on this one.” 

Sully sighs deeply.

If they’re going to see Sam...for real, it’s time to go. 

11\. 

“I love you, Ramona,” Sully tells her. “But it’s time for me to go. You don’t need me anymore. You’re gonna be just fine.” 

Her lip wibbles a little but she doesn’t cry. “I don’t understand why you can’t stay.” 

“Because,” Sully grins, kneeling down. “Some other kid is gonna need me like you needed me when we first met. You remember?” 

She nods, and looks down. 

“But I will always remember you,” Sully promises. “How could I forget the coolest girl I know?” 

She smiles and nods, hugging him tightly. “Will I ever see you again?” 

“You never know,” Sully says, patting her back. “Never say never.” 

12\. 

He drops in on Sam and Dean for help. It’s years and years later, and some of his fellow Zanna are being murdered and he’s not- 

He doesn’t know why. 

Sam is flabbergasted by his presence, and Dean is annoyed, tying the belt on his robe in a very dad-like way as he leads Sam into another room to talk. 

“Daddy?” a sleepy woman’s voice says. “Uncle Sam? What’s going on?” 

Sully freezes. “No way.” 

She’s nineteen now, he guesses. Maybe home from school early for the holidays. Or just for the weekend. 

She stops when at the doorway of the kitchen, shock written all over her face. She’s taller, but still kind of short; blonde, still, with her big green eyes, and cute nose. 

Still Ramona. 

Sully beams at her. 

END


End file.
